>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> and now, "bbc world news." >> renewed pressure on dominique strauss-kahn , the u.s. treasury officials say he is not workable of running the imf. the wife of closing the park is not released from custody after handing over $4 million in assets. welcome to "bbc news." scotland's first minister says that independence for his country is all inevitable. spending $8 million on -- spending $8 billion on a phone company is a great deal. bill gates discusses the

transaction. dominique strauss-kahn is facing charges of sexual assault is not in a position to run the international monetary fund which is the view of the treasury secretary, timothy geithner error. -- timothytimothy geithner air. more details have come out about the alleged victim. >> there is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed to be consensual in any manner. this is nothing other than a physical sexual assault by this man on this young woman.

>> our correspondent gave us more details about the case. >> the 32-year-old west african immigrant living in the bronx with her daughter. we heard from jeffrey shapiro, her lawyer, and heard about the extraordinary trauma that she had been going through apparent 30 said that her life had been turned upside down. he said there is no way should not be telling the truth because her story is consistent. he also commented on the fact that his client did not even know who dominique strauss-kahn was. the fact that he was head of the imf before the incident took place. >> there is speculation growing about whether dominique strauss- kahn will resign as head of the imf. have we heard from them yet? >> we heard a statement saying that they are trying to reach

him at the moment. there is great pressure for him to resign here in washington and here in europe. a lot comes from the fact that he was not granted bail by the judge in new york. she felt that he was a flight risk and he might leave the country and not face the charges. as we heard from timothy geithner air, the u.s. treasury secretary, he said that there is no way that dominique strauss- kahn can run the organization given the charges. they would like to have them formally appoint an interim leader. people like timothy geithner would like a formal appointment while dominique strauss-kahn faces these charges. >> what is next? >> dominique strauss-kahn is at rikers island in prison with

thousands of inmates. he will appear back in court on friday. his lawyer will appeal the bail decision. the judge might defer that to a higher court and will also possibly as more details come, this might be presented in front of a grand jury which is made up of u.s. citizens. their job is to look at the evidence and assess whether the evidence matches a certain vote and whether it should go to trial. >> you are watching bbc news. police in southeastern mexico have discovered at least 500 men, women, children that have been crammed into the trailers of two lorries. they are thought to be from latin american, india, and japan. the drivers are being arrested

and suspected of human trafficking. there is a big problem with people trafficking. >> there are estimates that nearly a hundred 50,000 people cross the border illegal between guatemala and mexico. -- nearly 150,000 people cross the border illegally. then they do not make it to the u.s. because of the dangers that they face in mexico. the numbers that try to reach the states are very high and more often than not they are under reported. >> how coordinated is the observation to get people across the border to guatemalans out? >> they have different types of operations. for instance, there is a lot more people travelling on their own and not necessarily with a

smuggler. they travel in small groups. they don't spend vast amounts of money. usually they have crossed over time so they know which are the roads that might take them there. however, there are other large groups that hire traffickers and they go from $5,000 to $30,000, or even more to cross the border. they have safe houses in central america. they have them and guatemalans and more likely in mexico. they are very coordinated. sometimes with the preparation with authorities and that applies not only to mexico but also on ramallah. they have different routes across the territory. -- that applies not only to mexico but also guatemala.

there are different groups that have control over certain areas of mexico. >> the wife of hosting the board has been released from detention after handing over about $4 million worth of assets. hosni mubarak has been under arrest for corruption charges. -- suzanne mubarak has been under arrest for corruption charges. >> corrupt was one of the chance as president hosni mubarak was ousted from power. it was an accusation that protesters leveled against uphold the mubarak family. after he was forced from office, mr. mubarak was detained along with his wife, suzanne, and his two sons in sharm el- sheikh. now, suzanne mubarak has been released after paying back some $4 million worth of assets to the state. what she is no longer being questioned. she is still in the process of

either approving a source of her money or relinquishing it. >> the current investigator -- the current president is being investigated it about the uprising. there are mixed feelings about the fate of the mubarak family. >> if we accept this, everyone who commits a crime will apologize without punishment. we must see justice done. >> there is no need to punish him further. >> suzanne mubarak denies charges of abusing her husband's office for personal financial gain. after the unprecedented protests, many egyptians feel that the mubarak family must face a trial over their crimes of the country is to move forward. >> the second day of her four-

day state visit to ireland, queen elizabeth will attend a service to honor the irish soldiers who died fighting for the united kingdom in the first world war. she went to a memorial and that was set up for the many people killed in the war. >> it is just an hour's time from london to dublin. yet, this particular flight has taken decades to get here. in echoed of emerald green, queen elizabeth of britain is stepping on to the soil on britain's nearest neighbor, ireland. they hope to end years of enmity and suspicion. the center of london was locked down by irish police. a bomb had been found and defused overnight. in phoenix park stands the building which once housed the british viceroys who ruled

ireland on the mark's behalf. it was here that the president of the state greeted the current wearer of the british crown as an equal. an irish military band played the british national anthem while a 21 gun salute was fired. in one part of the city center, a group of about 100 republicans was staging a protest against the decision. police were there and force. the union flag was burned. the irish police made it clear that this was a day when protests were not being tolerated at all. they swept through everyone who stood in their way. while republicans are still agree, it seemed that the

overwhelming republican -- over on the majority of people welcomed the queen. >> i think it is great. >> i think it is fantastic. i think it is 2011, trying to move on, really. >> obstacles from the past need to be neutralized. to do that, the queen will go through heavily guarded streets to the garden of remembrances who those prior to 1941 rose against the british crown to fight for ireland's freedom. she bowed her head in memory of the original irish republicans. this is a state visitor that every visitor performs. it would have been quite an imaginable for a british monarch to lay a wreath. this was a day when the past was

unfounded and when old hatreds were eased. from the garden of remembrance, she laughed again, along the cobbled streets and across the general post office scene of the 1960 easter rising, through the streets where spectators had been discouraged. >> the people of this city are getting very little sense of this visit except for a distant view of a very guarded convoy. within the safety of --, things could be relaxed a little. the queen was fabled -- finally able to meet the citizens of doblin. the state has been many years in coming, when britain and ireland broke free from the past and treated each other with the mutual respect of neighbors and friends.

>> you are watching "bbc news," still ahead. dmitry medvedev will run for a second term as president. who will vote for russia? the energy secretary has announced plans to cut the u.k. carbon emissions by 2027 and change the way britain produces energy. the proposals would promote a greener britain. >> coming to a hillside near you, a lot more of these. wind farms are often unpopular and they add to the bills but the government believes it is time to revolutionize british energy. we will see more fees. they would like to generate more power with less greenhouse gases. -- we will see more of these. all of this is designed to reduce the affect on the climate and to speed up new industries.

today, the energy secretary caught up in his own controversy announced a tough new target. >> the fourth budget places the uk at the leading edge of the global industrial revolution. >> this plan is pretty dramatic. the starting point is 1990 when britain comes up with 783 million tons of greenhouse gas. in this current five years, the missions are down to just under 600 million tons a year. today's target is even tougher. a reduction of 50%. the green industries, this is just a signal they need. this factory makes towers for wind turbines and on the waterfront, they are hoping for a huge new plant. some big energy users are worried.

they are given special concessions but they feel that competitors are given an easier ride. the coalition has promised to be degrees government of repair. today's target does set a new target for taxing global warming but will it be delivered? > bbc news headlines. the u.s. treasury secretary says that dominique strauss-kahn is not in a position to run the imf. hundreds of illegal immigrants have been found crammed into lorries and southeastern mexico. police in pakistan say about 100 militants have attacked a security checkpoint. there was a three-hour long clash which killed 15 insurgents and two officers. they had rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. this lies along the border of

the tribal region where taliban militants have hideouts. it is seen as a sign that he plans to run for office. russian president dmitry medvedev will appear before hundreds of journalists and a live televised news conference, the biggest since he took office. we have been traveling with the president. >> out on the road with dmitry medvedev's motorcade and 300 kilometers from moscow. the russian president's regional visit has taken on the air of an election campaign even though the presidential vote is not until next year and no one even knows if dmitry medvedev will be standing. he took over from vladimir putin in 2008 and it's still unclear which of the two will run next year or even how the candidate will be decided. speculation about a split was

fuelled by a public dispute over the libya policy. president medvedev has dropped several hints that he is unhappy with putin's strongman image. >> excessive concentration of power is a very dangerous thing. it has happened more than once in our country and has led to stagnation or to civil war. >> now, president medvedev is holding his first ever press conference. something which in the past only vladimir putin has done. what appears to be going on is a kind of undeclared election campaign with both of the main candidates staking their claim but without actually saying what is going on. some analysts think it is possible that medvedev and putin will run and that the world's biggest country is about to have its first presidential election with two candidates of equal stature.

most still think that this is a phoney election as the internal argument rages about which of the two should be the candidate. >> of european finance ministers have voted to prevent further austerity measures. the cantor received a massive bailout but now many including the financial markets need -- think that greece would need more help. >> another day, another country is crisis. first priest, now ireland, then portugal, greece. the eurozone ministers are considering a second bailout and as usual germany was at the center of the decision. there is a reason why these bailouts are so difficult in germany. people don't think they are fair. remember, when germany went into

the single currency, people were calling it the sick man of europe. they had years of real wage cuts or reform. as far as they are concerned, they have run of a massive bill. they decided that they had to specialize to survive. >> may be the germans still had the attitude after wartime. only work will be the key to success. >> dorman exporters gained enormously from a single currency. trade flows who have not all been one way. looking at the german trade surplus, it does not feel that way. since 2000, german exports

degrees have risen by 120%. greek exports to germany have gone up by 40%. the trade gap helps to explain why german banks are now sitting on 30 billion pounds worth of greek debt. throw in portugal and ireland and german bankers have more than a hundred billion pounds at risk if the bailout countries ever decided to default. greece now owes a lot of their money to other governments and official institutions. european central bank is now sitting on a mountain of greek and irish and portuguese government debt. they would all be losers if greece ever defaulted and other countries followed suit. that is on top of the big losses facing german banks. angela merkel is insisting that the greeks worked for any new money by selling more state assets. many and our coalition also want investors to share in the pain.

-- others in her coalition want investors to share the pain. >> this is the most you can think of. if they could think a hit on greek bonds, they would think, a hair cut is also likely for whatever. >> the euro the zone is looking for a way to make investors share in the cost of the bailout without causing panic in the markets. -- the eurozone is looking for a way to make investors share. easier said than done. >> bill gates believes that the company's takeover of skype is a great deal. he had supported the multibillion-dollar purchase of. this is the largest ever acquisition by microsoft. >> the idea of videoconferencing will get so much better than it is today. skype does get a fair bit of revenue. >> it makes an annual loss.

>> that is when you are amortizing the purchase price. the business is a fairly good business. the opportunity to take out a broad consumer to medications connected with the future of what the pbx will be -- anyway, it will be exciting to see the ideas coming out of microsoft research, what they come up with. >> "the financial times," said it smacked of corporate desperation. microsoft is facing internet irrelevance and it must do something to stay in the game thus this purchase. >> this is a great purchase that a lot of innovation will come out of it. >> at the scottish first minister alex salmond will form solid's first majority government. they were elected on a promise of referendum on independence. this is all but inevitable.

>> devolving power from westminster was supposed to ensure scotland's power inside of the u.k., not insure its exit. as alex salmond starts his second term as prime minister, he says that independence is more near now than ever. how likely do you think that is will scotland will become an independent country? >> as near to inevitability as anything can be in politics. >> he said that an independent scholar would keep the queen as head of state, keep sterling as their currency, and keep sharing military bases with the u.k. he is no rush to realize his vision. he will have this referendum towards the end of his term because although he has the majority he needs here at hollywood, he would like more time to persuade a majority of

scotts to say yes to independence. >> roughly a third of people prefer independence. if we look to see what powers people think the scottish parliament should have, there is certainly evidence of an appetite for much greater devolution then at the moment. >> that is why alex salmond is open to a referendum. one on independence, a second on a more powerful scottish parliament with full control over tax and spending but not over defense or foreign affairs. >> this isn't a chance to increase the power so they can work better for the people of scotland. -- this is a chance to increase the power. >> for now, his priority is to negotiate with u.k. ministers to expand their plans for further the evolution.

>> he has to set out a pretty good case for that and answer some pretty fundamental questions which he has so far failed to do. >> the landslide adds weight to the campaign for a more powerful scottish parliament but this is not in itself a mandate to end the united kingdom. >> the authorities in the united states have reopened a section of the swollen mississippi river to shipping after it has been temporarily closed because of damage from floodwaters. this all the cargo on the country's busiest waterway. snowmelt and heavy rain has caused the river to peak at levels not seen for seven years and forced the evacuation of 1300 people from their homes. -- for 70 years and forced the evacuation of people from their homes. the u.s. treasury secretary has said that dominique strauss- kahn who was in jail and attempted rape charges is not

fit to head the imf. thank you for watching "bbc news." >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.